underrated comment. sprinting spikes vs. flats is a major difference. the kid is still exceptionally fast and if he isn't wearing spikes then geeze. hope he doesn't get burned out by the time he becomes 14 which happens with a lot of prodigy kids who get pushed.

I knew a few kids like this growing up running track. Some of them were successful later in their running careers. Unfortunately, most of them lost the genetic lottery and stopped growing early (height plays an unfair role in most sports). Others quit because of the pressure to perform, and one suffered extreme growth pains due to overdeveloped leg muscles before puberty. Nearly forced him to stop all athletics for 2 years in high school.

Youth sports really can be a tough world for kids. Hope this little guy is able to do what makes him happy.

damn on one hand it's super cool seeing kids like these be really good at a sport and being expected to do well as they grow up but on the other hand it makes me think about the immense pressure they're under to perform well as they get older and it makes me worry a little

The only reason you're seeing it is because the parents are trying to build a social media campaign to make the case for a scholarship. Enough videos like this, I bet that kid gets a full ride to a private school.

I guess what I'm getting at is that I hope his parents don't put too much into him getting a scholarship in case something goes wrong because that's a lot of pressure for a kid. Like, if the kid does well and the parents are supportive, great! But there are definitely parents out there who get way too into it in a way that is detrimental to the kid

The case I mentioned was extreme (the kid was 14 years old with body-builder sized legs before hitting puberty), but he had to take several weeks off during our track and cross country seasons due to severe leg pains. His doctor said his legs were practically tearing apart from trying to grow with such huge muscle mass.

It's one of those things that's heavily debated, but I've personally witnessed it twice in high school and met several athletes in college that almost had to quit because of it. People tend to differ on the definition of "overdeveloped" when it comes to muscle mass, so that adds to the confusion a bit. The athletes I met and competed with were significantly larger in terms of muscle size relative to their build than average athletes their age. There's also been research suggesting that it can hinder growth if the muscles are large enough and lack flexibility during a growth spurt, but that's also heavily debated.

There was this family that had kids who did sports while my brother did as well so we always saw the way the parents pushed these kids to do better constantly. The girl was a really good athlete but she committed suicide in high school and I always wonder if the pressure she received for at least roughly ten years had an impact on what ultimately happened to her. It was a really sad situation.

Yeah, a 13 second 100 is pretty typical for your average “fast” freshman in HS (not necessarily a sprinter, just if you took the fastest kids from most sports that’s roughly where they’d level out at). Considering how young and short he is, it’ll be interesting to see if he keeps progressing at this rate.